Improvement in trace-buckles



A. H. COLE.

Improvement in Trace-Buckles.

Patented May 9,1871.

timid S tting fiat/wt" cam.

AARON H. COLE, (DECEASED,) OF ADRIAN, MICHIGAN LYDIA B. COLE AND MINERT. COLE, ADMINISTRATORS.

Letters Patent No. 114,530, dated May 9, 1871.

IMPROVEMENT IN TRACE-BUCKLES.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of thesame.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that AARON H. COLE, now deceased, did, in his lifetime,invent an Improved Trace-Buckle; and we, MINER T. Come and LYDIA B.COLE, of Adrian, in the county of Lenawee and State of Michiq gan,administrators'of the estate of the said AARON H. COLE, deceased, dohereby declare that the following is a full and exact description of theinvention, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings making partof this specification- Figure 1 being a view, in perspective, of theimproved buckle, together with a portion of the trace and hamestrap towhich it is applied.

Figure 2, a side view of the same.

Like letters designate corresponding parts in both figures.

The special object of this improved buckle is to be applied tohame-straps of harnesses for attaching and tached to it, the action ofthe bail or swinging end .of

the bow being to closely compress the tongue-plate upon the trace, andthereby relieve the strain-upon the tongue and the buckle-holes,substantially as herein specified, whereby the buckling and nnbucklingare greatly facilitated, and without bending the trace.

Let S represent a hame-strap, and

' t a trace to be buckled thereto.

The buckle, bow, rim, or frame a, has one end or cross-bar straight androunded, and this part is inserted in a 1oop .:c, at the end of thehams-strap S, in which it turns as a pivot.

The opposite end of the bow is also straight and preferably rounded, andit swings over the trace t, as indicated in the drawings, around thepivot end as a center. vThe motion of the bow is similar to that of thebail of a kettle or other vessel.

The sides of the buckle-bow may be of bent form, as shown, so as toproperly embrace the parts included within it, and may be provided withloops '1' 'r to receive the back and belly-band of the harness.

in connection with this pivoted swinging bow or rim as above described,a pressure-plate, w, is used, projecting from the inner side of which isa tongue, 71, that fits into any one of the buckle-holes of the trace.This plate may be of skeleton 'foi'm to render it light, and it may haveinclined planes or a wedge surface for the hail of the buckle-rim tobear on. Theseinclined or wedge-acting surfaces are desirable, but notnecessary to the proper action of the buckle. If they are not used thereshould be stops or shoulders near the tongue end of the plate for thebail to strike against.

The sides of the tongue-plate may turn down, as shown at the left hand,in the drawings, so as to embrace the edges of the trace, and therebybe more secnrely kept in position.

The whole buckle may be made of malleable, cast iron, or other suitablemetal.

The operation of the buckle is easy and eifective. The buckle-bow beingof proper length so as to swing into an oblique position over the trace,when the bail or free cross-end is brought perpendicularly, or nearlyso, over the trace, there is suificient space between it and the tongueor pressure-plate w to allow the tongue to be freely drawn out of orinserted into one of the buckle-holes of the trace. Then, as the traceis drawn in the direction indicated by the arrow in fig. l, the hail ofthe buckle is moved into an oblique position, as shown in the drawings,thereby pressing the tongueplate down upon the trace and compressing thesame between the said plate and the hame-strap; and this compressionbeing proportional to the resistance of the load drawn, the tongue hisrelieved almost entirely of strain and when the trace is to beunbuckled, the bail is simply swung again into a perpendicular position,and then the pressure-plate is free to be moved and the tongue drawnfrom the buckle-hole without bending the trace at all.

What we claim as the invention of AARON H. Conn, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is-- A trace-buckle, having abow or rim, a, one end ofwhich turns as a pivot in the hame or fixed strap, so that the other endswings as a bail over the trace, in combination with a tongue-pressureplate, 10, wedgeshaped or otherwise, the whole arranged and operatin gsubstantially as and for the purpose herein specified.

MINER T. COLE. LYDIA B. COLE.

By theirv Attorney, Witnesses: J. A. BROWN.

ELIZA KELLY, JOHN LAYCOCK.

